DOT: Work on Amtrak improvements to start this year

The state Department of Transportation said work on a second track between Albany and Schenectady, and on a fourth track at the Rensselaer train station, will begin this year.

DOT spokesman Bill Reynolds said that once a lease agreement between Amtrak and CSX Transportation is reviewed by the DOT and approved by the state comptroller, “construction would then start this year on the fourth track at Rensselaer station, and on the double track between Albany and Schenectady.”

Reynolds also said an ongoing environmental review is separate from the local projects. Its purpose is to study the feasibility of high speed rail service from New York City to Niagara Falls, he said. A separate environmental review on the second track and the Rensselaer station improvements already has been completed.

Reynolds called the lease agreement between Amtrak and CSX “historic,” while rail advocates say it opened the way for federal dollars to be spent on passenger rail improvements along the line.

The line is heavily used by passenger trains, and the single track between Albany and Schenectady has posed a major bottleneck along the corridor as trains must wait for those traveling the opposite direction to clear the roughly 14-mile stretch of single track.

“The earliest possible start of actual construction will be great news for the passengers of the state,” said Bruce Becker, president of the Empire State Passengers Association.

This will be a huge help to those NYC folk who on their way to visit incarcerated loved ones in places like Attica and Auburn have been inconvenienced by the Albany to Schenectady rail corridor. Thanks again Senator Schumer.

I am curious how this will impact the time table for reconstruction of the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge, slated to be rebuilt as part of NY’s HRS effort. I, like many capital region residents, are eagerly awaiting the public meetings on this project as the design phase wraps up. Will the Bridge’s walkways be replaced? The walkway replacement has eagerly been supported by the cities of Albany and Rensselaer, as well as Rensselaer Count. Advocates are optimistic that Albany County, too, will support the rehabilitation of the walkways on the reconstructed bridge. It’s been well over a two decade dream to have bike and ped. access restored on this bridge, and the crossing has already been examined in several studies. I’m hopeful that CSX and Amtrak will recognize the long standing community need for this walkway.